


we're all tired here

by InsufferableArchanist



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Coping, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Group dynamics, Teasing, covid mentions, i genuinely thought he would be included in the group, i'm sorry you asked for something with the guardians and pitch just kinda -slams foot in door-, preventing santa from seeing tiktok is paramount, tiredness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28280928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsufferableArchanist/pseuds/InsufferableArchanist
Summary: pitch black pays a visit to a very tired group of guardians
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	we're all tired here

**Author's Note:**

> a fill for the rotg secret santa over on tumblr! this is for **17\. How all of the Guardians are doing with covid and how the world is.** i hope you enjoy if you're reading this!

“Someone pick Tooth up,” Jack yawned, “I did it last time.”

“Bunny-” North began. Bunny’s ear twitched irritably.

“It’s Sandy’s-” he began, only then bothering to open his eyes. Sandy was, very notably, passed out in full, front folded over the table and both arms splayed outwards, palms open. 

Bunny sighed, barely starting to get up from his chair, when there was apparently no need. 

Chairs scraped on the floor of the meeting room at the North Pole. Jack had pulled Sandy up, standing with his own staff pointed out. North had drawn his swords, and Bunny had already thrown one boomerang.

Pitch ducked neatly as it doubled back, barely jostling Toothiana in his arms.

“My, my,” he said. “You all are quite jumpy, do you know that?”

“Put her down, Pitch,” Jack demanded. 

Pitch gave him a dry look.

“I was planning on it. That is, if you don’t skewer me first.”

The other four Guardians remained on tenterhooks as he approached, hackles raised, but the shadowmancer did as he had promised, and set Toothiana where she had been sitting before. He even straightened a few of her feathers, as if to show he were acting in good faith.

North was the first to lower his swords, but he still kept them at the ready, giving Pitch a sideways glance.

“...Why are you here?”

“It’s been a while since I felt the… Stirrings of your fears. Coming on quite strong, really… There was talk of Christmas being canceled, wasn’t there?”

North squinted. “Is not a reason, Pitch. I asked you for your reason.”

“Ah. Well, broadly… I came to see how you all were doing,” he said. “Though I suppose that’s apparent enough… Memory and dreams have been hit hard this year, haven’t they?”

Jack seemed about to say something when Sandy fell back into his seat, his whips dissolving by the table near him. The look Pitch gave him could be called half pitying, if Pitch were the pitying sort.

“...Sit down. If Sandy thinks he’s on the level, I reckon he is,” Bunny huffed, begrudgingly. His nose twitched along with his ears, but he sat down himself, crossing his arms. “Still, what does it matter to you?”

“Well, I’ve been having a decent go of it. You do know how pandemics are,” Pitch sighed fondly, tapping his chin. “I suppose that’s put me in a better mood, regarding our last little get together.”

“That was your fault, anyway,” Jack groaned.

“Was that the conclusion we came to? Or are you not feeling very fun at this moment?”

“Oh my god,” said Jack, “Shut up.”

“Is the TikTok not treating you well, Jack?”

“Shut up!” 

“...What is TikTok?” North asked.

“I’ll show you later,” Pitch told him.

“You will NOT!” Jack said suddenly, slapping the table as he stood again. 

Toothiana lifted her head from the table wearily.

“We’re what?” she said. She saw Pitch, then registered him, grasping blearily for her own sword before Bunny reached over to pat her hand, as if to tell her not to bother. 

“Showing North TikTok, apparently,” Pitch grinned. “Though honestly, Jack, I was only trying to lighten the mood.”

“Oh yeah, you’re famous for that.”

“I’m better at it right now than you lot seem.”

“Why’s’e here?” Toothiana murmured.

“Asking after us,” Bunny murmured back.

“And telling me about TikTok.” said North.  
“He is NOT telling you about TikTok,” Jack told North back, “And that’s final.”

“Why not?”

“It will VASTLY sway your opinion about the nice and naughty lists.”

North looked with curiosity to Pitch, who at the very least shrugged and gave a nod of his head, as if to confirm Jack’s statement.

“Plus, the usual media buzz,” Pitch said. “You know… Negativity breeds itself faster than positivity. I’m sure-”

“Yes, I remember,” Toothiana told him, pre-empting his joke. 

A silence fell over them all, and Pitch looked around the room again in the intervening time. Finally, Jack asked the question:

“What’re you looking at?”

“Oh… I was thinking. Bunny seems to be in the best shape of all of you.”

“And if you want to start anything, I’ll be happy to-”

“Don’t be that way, rabbit,” Pitch said, waving his unfinished threat away. “I was only trying to think of why. Consider… Where there’s fear, there needs to be hope. Or else, society starts to eat itself… So you’re doing better than the rest because people have hope, real or imagined. Then comes our dear Jack Frost.”

Jack looked around at Sandy, North, and Toothiana. 

“Me? North is -”

“Getting a nice little Christmas bonus. The more dire circumstances, the more need there is to generate fun. Vent the steam. But you have that going in more ways than he’s got.”

The frost spirit looked to St North to confirm if that were, indeed, true. North did not look exactly happy at Pitch’s assessment, but he shrugged.

“Is true as not, Jack,” he said.

“...So whose faring worse? Tooth or Sandy?” Jack asked.

Bunny, North, Jack, and Pitch regarded the two of them for a moment. Toothiana’s wings were fluttering slightly, but she had nearly fallen back asleep, in a semi lucid state. It took Pitch appearing right beside her for her to wildly wave him away, and regain full, upright attention.

“Memory has some of an advantage over dreams. But given the run on nightmares -”

“You’ve been making nightmares?!” the four lucid guardians exclaimed at the same time. 

The din they made was enough to make Sandy’s hands kick up, and they found their mouths temporarily trapped by dreamsand. Enough to make spitting it out a necessity, anyway. Pitch seemed amused.

“As a matter of fact, I haven’t needed to.”

“No wonder you’re looking keen,” Bunny said.

“Wild nightmares don’t necessarily work in my favor, remember?” Pitch reminded him. “I just haven’t had much to be frightened with since you all went down about...Hm. March?”

“Earlier,” Jack groused. 

“Really?” Bunny and North asked, to which Toothiana and Jack frowned at them.

“We can’t all work-”

“One night a year, yes, yes,” St North sighed.

“What I’d like is one night off,” Toothiana told them, causing them all to stare at her. When she noticed, she huffed. “What? I’m tired. At long, long last, I’ve been worn down. Nobody is getting their regular appointments at their dentists, and not many are managing to take care of their own teeth well all by themselves. It’s had me working overtime.”

“And people are sleeping at all odd hours of the day,” Jack said, looking over at Sandy. “Man. We should have a night off.”

“What would we even do with it?” Bunny said, putting his chin on his paw again.

There was silence once more. 

At last, Pitch cleared his throat

“We could watch TikToks-” he began to suggest.

“Go!” Jack yelled, throwing his staff.


End file.
